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Richard Smith was born and raised in Tauranga. From a young age he had an interest in drawing and painting. As a child he spent many hours in his father's boat-building workshop observing and drawing boats under construction, developing the accomplished skills and techniques now so evident in his work. Influences have been the American painter Edward Hooper and a number of New Zealand painters, including Peter McIntyre. The solid compositional and drawing abilities and unerring sense of perspective that they demonstrated in their work are also a strong feature of Richard's. Throughout his working life, which was spent predominantly in the field of marine manufacturing, Richard sustained his passion for art. It became his primary focus in 2001 when he made the decision to paint full-time. Since then he has participated in numerous group and solo exhibitions. Richard's versatility leads him to depict landscape, the marine environment of wharfs and vessels, and buildings of character. It is from years spent in and around the marine environment, that Richard gleaned his knowledge of boats and of the mercurial nature and characteristics of water. He is able to capture the distinctive 'personalities' of different boats and the elusive, reflective quality of the water around them. "I want water to look fluid and wet, as if you could dip your hand in… or an old post so solid and textured that you want to reach out and touch it. An elusive goal but one I'm always aiming for", he says. Peoples presence and relationship with their environment is another theme often explored through paintings of old structures often abandoned and left to ruin. Although based in Tauranga Richard finds inspiration from frequent travels to different parts of the country. While he used to paint on location, he now finds this takes too long and prefers to work from sketches and photographs in his studio. His keen eye for the subject observed 'en plein air' is reflected in his paintings. He describes himself as a 'contemporary realist'. Although his art appears detailed, it is not the detail that interests him, but rather to create paintings that look spontaneous and convey a sense of life. 'My art covers many aspects of our land and lifestyle'. Selected publications: New Zealand - A Painted Country, by Denis Robinson: Contemporary New Zealand artists paint their favourite places, published by New Holland Publishers in 2007 New Zealand's Favourite Artists, by Denis Robinson, published by Saint Publishing in 2006 New Zealand's Favourite Artists Calendar 2008 ABN - AMRO Craigs Calendar : New Zealand Stories on canvas 2008 Eli Lilly Corporate Calendar : New Zealand Art 2008 12 Contemporary New Zealand Artists Calendar 2007 Selected exhibitions:
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